Fortnite Added A New Item By Accident

The latest patch dropped in Fortnite this week, introducing jetpacks to the Battle Royale experience. Then players discovered a mystery item that wasn't included in the patch notes; a "Storm Tracker" that let them get a bit of an edge over the competition.

When update v4.2 dropped into Fortnite this week, it included the first in a new class of items known as Backpacks. To be clear, these should not be confused with Back Blig, the customizable items players can unlock or purchase that do nothing more than make your character look different. Backpacks, on the other hand, actually impact gameplay and can only be found in the game world.

The first Backpack was the highly-anticipated jetpack, which allows players to fly around the map for a while. This would allow you to get a look at the surrounding area, or perhaps make vertical or horizontal traversal a bit easier without needing to rely on building materials. The only catch is that you can't fire your weapon while flying.

But as some players discovered while exploring the map, another Backpack was also introduced to the game. It's called a Storm Tracker, and it turns out it's an experimental item that was not yet ready for prime time. Epic has since patched the Storm Tracker out of the game, including a note on the game's reddit about how they hope those who found it out in the wild enjoyed their time with the device. Epic reiterated the fact that this was not an intended part of v4.2 and, while they're obviously toying around with the device, they can't promise it will ever actually get dropped into the game proper.

As the item's name implies, it let players track the movement of the in-game storm to a degree. Like most battle royale games, Fortnite's showdown is progressed by an ever-present storm that moves in on the map in a circular pattern. If you get caught outside the storm, you take damage. The further into the round you are, the more damage the storm will deal.

The trick is that the storm doesn't just start out as one big circle and slowly but surely zoom in on the center. It's more spontaneous than that. After the storm reaches the limits of its current circle, a new circle will pop up somewhere within the new border, and it's seldom at the direct heart of the current play area. The Storm Tracker allowed players to predict where the storm would move through its various iterations.

That's actually a really handy perk in Fortnite. If you've got some decent gear and are ready to make a final stand, knowing where the storm is heading would allow you to get there early and start building your defenses. Unless Epic decides that information is a bit too powerful, we wouldn't be surprised to see the Storm Tracker make a return as an official Backpack. For now, though, jetpacks are cool, too.